A Short Story….

In an world full of chaos and self-consumed daily dramas, I wanted to share a heart-warming short story with you written by my sister, per her permission, entitled “A smell….”

The fact that my car needed an oil change had been bothering me for some time now. The sales job that I now have requires me to be a bit more responsible when it comes to maintaining my only means of transportation. As I feverishly drove through the streets of somewhere between 15th, Nickerson and Elliott looking for potential customers, I noticed a small sign that read “Oil change only $15 for new BMW customers.” Remembering that my car had been making a funny noise for about a week, blinker light out, and desperately in need of an oil change, I slammed on my breaks and took a quick right (without signaling of course), entering the very crowded car shop. It looked a little run down but the old sign reading “BMW Certified” put my mind at ease…I know, I know, but I already made a pretty ridiculous decision in buying the damn thing, so I am now plagued with the sight of the “BMW Certified sign.” Back to the story…I parked, half on the side walk, half in the gravel, and entered the tattered little establishment….

Inside sat a man, about mid-50′s, grey hair, partial beard, old grey sweatshirt and kind eyes. I asked him if he had time for an oil change. He muttered that they were pretty busy and that he would be able to get me in on Wednesday morning. A little disappointed, I said “that would be fine.” I figured I would be able to sell some of his neighbors while I waited anyway. He asked me to tell him the make and model of the car, then my first and last name which he wrote on a little yellow post-it note. This is where the story gets interesting I promise….

The man stopped suddenly when I told him my last name. It was like someone had jarred a long lost memory of something that had played a significant part in his life. “Westmoreland,” he smiled when I told him, he then said “I served under that man once back in the 60′s, he was a good man.” I knew who he was talking about, The General Westmoreland, my grandfather’s cousin, aka: “The General” in the Vietnam War.

I have always been fascinated by Vietnam, the men and women who served there, and all of the atrocities that took place. So, for that reason, I started to ask him questions…”Did you see bad things there?” “How did you cope?” “Are you okay?” I found out that this man had served our country from the ages of 19 to 22 years old. He saw things he would not tell me about. He has not slept a full night since he came home. He suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. When a helicopter flies by his heart races, just like it has every since he suffered a failed marriage due to this post-traumatic stress.

I felt bad and I knew he could tell by the look on my face. He just smiled and told me not to feel bad for him. He told me that there were some good things he remembered about Vietnam. One good thing that he remembered was a smell. Confused, I asked “what kind of smell?” He said that one time when his platoon was walking by a bush he remember a beautiful smell, one that stood out from all of the death, destruction, smoke and chemicals, a smell he will never forget, “like heaven,” he said. It was a type of flower that bloomed by the water during that particular time of year. “It smelled like candy,” he said. I watched his eyes drift off into a deep thought. He told me he only smelled it one other time, and that was at Green Lake when he and an old Vietnam buddy walked around the lake one day.

I just looked at him and smiled. He had just told me things he probably had not talked about for many years. I felt honored to have been the one he had told these things to. I thanked him for protecting our country and left.

The day wore on and I forgot about the old man at the auto shop. I went home consumed with the stresses of sales, life, money…whatever. I decided, without even a second thought to take my crazy bulldog for a walk around Green Lake. As I walked along the water and watched the sun set with my dog I started to relax. I kept walking, realizing how beautiful it all was, then, out of no where I smelled the most amazing smell! No kidding! It smelled like candy, and happiness. I stopped for a minute while all of the joggers and bikers zoomed by me. It was the flower! The one the old man told me about!

It just made me stop and realize that life is full of suffering, pain and chaos…but the little things…the flowers, the random people you meet at the auto shop along the way, the little joys, make it all worth it. I stopped to smell the flowers today, and they smelled “like heaven.” That smell helped a young man cope and an old man remember…..that smell helped me to open my eyes.

Thank you old man in auto shop for helping me to see things differently.